August 24

Chapter 66

The Rule of Benedict August 24

I'm struck this time through by the second to last paragraph in this chapter.  Benedict believes very strongly in the enclosure.  He warns that going outside of the enclosure is bad for the soul of the monastic.

Clearly we cannot follow his instructions on this matter, but I wonder what we can learn from the spirit behind the teaching.  If our monastery is "in the world," as many subsequent religious orders have functioned, how do we orient our hearts towards our identity as members of a Benedictine community and away from the dominant cultural identities we are pressured to assume?  The answer, it seems to me, is in establishing a practice that connects us in time and spirit to each other and to God in the Benedictine tradition.